Still Here - Different web address

I'm still here :)

A few months back, I went from having hundreds of page views hourly, to practically nothing daily out of no where. My heart dropped. I was discouraged. I walked away with my head hung low.

A few weeks later, I went back to look a little closer. To my surprise, and great frustration, I realized that somehow I had been booted from my domain name www.artsymomma365.com. It suddenly was no longer mine. Really?? I've had that domain name for over three years now. After endless attempts to contact the servers and google, I have decided to just roll with it. You found me once, hopefully, you'll find me again. If you're an email subscriber, you never missed a beat, and I thank you for that :)

From now on, you'll find me at www.artsymomma365.blogspot.com

Happy Mother's Day Everyone!

- Lisa

10 Ways to use Rolled Oats

 

My family of five has pretty hearty appetites. It use to only take a few days before most of the food in our cabinets started dwindling. 

 

To counter this, we've started buying quite a bit of our staples in bulk. We have tall metal shelving in our basement that houses large sacks of grains and flour, bags of dried fruit, jars of sauces, jams and preserves. It's a nice feeling, needing something and being able to just walk downstairs and grab it.

 

It's also an easy way to loose money on food - if you don't make an effort to use it all up before it goes bad. I haven't really ran into that problem yet, but I am diligent on keeping an ongoing inventory to avoid it.

 

I thought it might be fun to do a series on all the different ways to use up what you've got stored.

 

First up - Rolled Oats

** Recipes are linked to each use **

 

I was able to buy a 10 pound bag of oats for $6.80

 

 

10 pounds is a lot of oats, let me tell you! I have had this bag for a few months now, and still have more than five pounds left. Thankfully, dried grains have a long shelf life.

 

 

 

 

10 Ways to Use Rolled Oats

 

1). Fruit Crisps - you can use just about any fruit - I always grab whatever is close to going bad - before it actually does of course.

 

2). Granola - this is so versatile and so much better for you than store bought cereal. We make and use half a gallon of granola a week. You can find our favorite recipe here.

 

 

 

3). Breakfast Cookies - my kids love these! I'm sure half the reason is in thinking they get to have a "real" cookie for breakfast. I love them because they're quick, easy and freeze well.

 

4). Oatmeal Cookies - our whole family's favorite cookie! Try the recipe with tart cherries and chunks of dark chocolate instead of raisins - yumm!

 

5). Oatmeal - okay, okay, kind of obvious, but it really does make a great warm hearty breakfast for hungry kids. You can make a big batch and then add each person's favorite ingredients to their bowl. It keeps everyone happy.

 

6). Oat Bread - Oats add depth and chewiness to bread. If you've never had oat bread, make some, you may never eat normal bread again!

 

7). Fish or Chicken Breading - use rolled oats instead of bread crumbs.

 

8). Meatloaf extender - Instead of using 2 lbs of ground beef in meatloaf, use 1 lb and then add 1 cup of oats to the mixture.

 

9). Oatmeal Pancakes - Super easy and has more fiber than traditional pancakes.

 

10). Apple Oat Muffins - Make for an easy and quick breakfast on the go.

 

 

 

How do you use your oats?

DIY Sewing Cards for Kids

 

My little girl has taken an interest in sewing lately.

 

She's come up with all sorts of fun projects she wants to complete - sewn crowns, doll clothing, princess dresses and matching pajamas for her and her sister - just to name a few.

 

I want to encourage her to pursue this, but something about a four year old and needles just doesn't sit well with me. Part of the problem is that she wants to do most of it herself - which is great and nerve wrecking at the same time.

 

 It took a while, but I was able to convince her that if she practiced enough on her new sewing cards, I would let her start using the real thing. I haven't decided just how much "practice" she will need, maybe a year or two?

 

We made our own sewing cards, and it was really easy to do.

 

 

What you need:

 

Scrap book paper (optional - you could also use computer paper and decorate it or leave it plain)

Laminator

3 or 5 mil laminating sheets (I use 5 mil)

Hole puncher

Yarn

Tape

 

 

 

 

1). Using your paper, cut out desired shapes.

 



 

 

 

2). Place shapes in laminator sheets and then laminate them.

 



 

 

 

3). Trim around each shape, making sure that all the edges are smooth and rounded well. Take your hole puncher and punch holes along the edge.

 

 

 



 

 

4). Cut a long piece of yarn and then wrap tape around each end to stop frays and allow for easy threading.

 



 



 

 

 

That's it! Super easy, and for us it was free because we had all of the supplies already.

 

 

Happy Monday Everyone!

- Lisa :)

 

 

 

 

 

** featured on**

 

Spending Fast Recap - January 2013

 

One month down, eleven more to go!

 

At this point, that sounds kind of depressing. The first two weeks were easy. I was running on a motivational high and just KNEW I could do this, without a problem.

 

 But then week three showed up, and at that point I had already had one of my favorite (but unfortunately not necessary) kitchen tools bite the dust, I ran out of lotion, facial toner and toothpaste, and I really wanted a glass of wine. Combine that with all the amazing books being released right now and my love affair with all things crafty - well, it kinda stinks.

 

I have the means to make my own lotion, toner and toothpaste, so those were not classified as needs just yet. Thankfully I have a husband that's willing to brush his teeth with clay for me - if that doesn't say "love", I don't know what does.

 

And while staring at a large crock pot full of potato soup needing to be blended, I initially thought a new immersion blender was a need, but I waited. I'm glad I did, because really, for the few times a month I actually use the immersion blender, I could easily use either my regular standing blender or hand mixer depending on what needed to be done. So, for now, an immersion blender is not really a need for me. Before this, I would have just gone out and bought the blender without a second thought.

 

This was a turning point for me, I must admit. I really didn't think we spent all that much on unnecessary purchases, but we do. A few extra minutes and a little thinking outside the box can take you pretty far and save a lot of money.

 

At it's very least, this year will be a paradigm shift for me, and at it's best, my student loans will be paid off.

 

On that note, I'm extremely happy to report that even though this month was not perfect, I still came up with A LOT more money than I had anticipated.

 

I slipped up a smidgen, I did buy some wine and I splurged a bit on my spices so I could make our own Chai - more on that later...

 

Honestly, I had a target number that I wanted to throw towards my student loans, which at the beginning of the month I thought was a bit optimistic.

 

Well, I surpassed that.

 

That surprise, that feeling of accomplishment, that outweighs any purchase any day.

The Calming Art Effect

 

 Every once in a while, we have one of those crazy, harried mornings. You know the ones where your youngest decides 4am is the perfect rising time for the day, and once the other children get up, no one knows where anything is, or what they deem tolerable to eat for breakfast. Goodness, throw shoes, jackets, hats, gloves and snow pants into the mix and it's a full-blown morning nightmare.

 

These are the mornings that I decide the gym can wait. The to-do list can wait. In fact, any plans at accomplishing anything other than drinking a hot cup of coffee in peace can wait.

 

When we get home from dropping my oldest off at school, I set up the table easel and let my daughter go to town with a stack of paper in any way she chooses.

 

These mornings, more often than not, turn into the greatest days.

 

I truly believe allowing some creative outlet during high-stress moments offer the best calming effect around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

While my older daughter creates, my youngest either snacks and watches, or joins in the fun with her crayon rocks. 

 

 

 

And this child waits for food to drop... eh hem...

 

 

The entire time, the children are engaged in creativity. I get to sit and enjoy a HOT cup of coffee - a commodity around here. But the greatest part, is that while creating, they open up and talk to me. Some of our best conversations have occurred before the sun rises, painting and drawing at the kitchen table on mornings like this.

Natural Clay Toothpaste

 

A few months ago, Chris and I had just finished a date night dinner and on the way home decided to stop at our local health food store. I'm not sure what it is about being sans kids in a store together, but it makes my husband goofy. Kind of a "Who are you and what did you do with my husband" - goofy. That night was no different. We were over by the natural beauty products and he started untwisting lotions and creams and jars to sniff them - which I guess is normal if you don't add weird snorting noises while you're doing it. I was too busy laughing at him to pay attention to what he was doing and before we knew it, a cloud of green powder jumped out at us and decorated the floor, the shelves, our shoes...

 

Long story short, after a lot of cleaning and apologizing on our part, we left the store with a not quite full container of Indian Healing Clay.

 

It has sat on my shelf ever since.

 

I'm not a big facial mask type of person, which is what the directions say to use it for, so that clay was never reopened.

 

Until yesterday. I ran out of toothpaste and I am bound and determined to not spend money on things I can make at home. Toothpaste is no exception.

 

Over Christmas, my mom gifted me the ebook DIY Organic Beauty - thanks mom! I remembered seeing a lot recipes that called for bentonite clay. I checked out my "Indian Healing Clay" and sure enough, that's what it was.

 

There are tons of homemade natural toothpaste recipes out there (like this and this), but I wanted to try this one first because I have the clay and want to use it up.

 

 

 

 

 

I won't lie, the idea of brushing my teeth with clay is still a little unsettling.

 

  After doing quite a bit of research on the subject, I've decided to always make my own toothpaste. It's just a matter of finding the right one for us. I did read online that the clay toothpaste has helped people with sensitive teeth.

 

Chris has very sensitive teeth. So that was what I focused on when I showed him this lovely jar of green clay that I expect him to put in his mouth.

 

 

 

 

Then, to highlight just how non-gross it would be, I picked up my toothbrush, scooped a little bit up with an espresso spoon and spread it on the bristles.

 

I turned on the water, started brushing and you know what? It wasn't gross at all.

 

It was different, for one it doesn't foam, but toothpaste doesn't need to foam. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, an ingredient in toothpaste, is used for the sole purpose of letting you know what you're doing is actually "working" by lathering. It's a marketing ploy (honest! - you can even read about it in this book that is all about marketing and NOT about toothpaste). Did you know that sodium lauryl sulfate - you know that stuff you put in your mouth twice a day - is used to degrease engines?

 

The taste of the clay toothpaste really was just like minty baking soda.

 

Afterword, my teeth were clean and my breath was fresh. Overall, I'm really happy with this will likely continue to use it.

I'm fairly certain, because of the texture, I will have to find another solution for my children.

 

What are your thoughts on homemade toothpaste?

 

Do you have a favorite toothpaste recipe?

 

I would love to hear what you have to say!

 

Have a great day!

~ Lisa

 

** This post is part of a natural livng link party over at Frugal by Choice **

Cardamom Pear Waffles - Recipe

 

I'm always trying to find new ways to sneak healthy food and spices into my children's diet. I always let them know what they've eaten after they decide if they like it or not. I've found that works better than announcing it ahead of time. When I do that, I'm usually greeted with crinkled noses and loud "Eeeeew!'s"

 

If they do end up liking the food, I make sure to tell them exactly all the good stuff that was in it - so in the future, they will remember those things (hopefully) and associate them with pleasant tastes and thoughts of good food.

 

 

 

Cardamom has a slew of health benefits. It's a cancer fighter, lowers blood pressure, and can prevent blood clots just to name a few. It also has a strong ginger-like flavor that doesn't always sit well with the younger crowd.

 

I put together this recipe for cardamom pear waffles. So far I am happy to report it has been a hit with my kids - they loved it!

 

 

 

 

Cardamom Pear Waffles

 

What you need:

1 C Unbleached flour

1/2 C Whole Wheat flour

1/4 C Golden ground flax meal

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp Cardamom seed powder

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp sugar or honey

1 1/4 C Milk

1 egg - slightly beaten

3 tbsp melted butter

1 peeled and grated bosc pear

********************************

1 bosc pear - thinly sliced as garnish (optional)

Whipped vanilla coconut (optional)

 

 

1) In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, flax meal, baking powder, cardamom, salt and sugar (if using honey, add that later with the wet ingredients).

 

2) Create a well in the middle of the flour mixture and add milk, egg, and melted butter (add honey now if using). Mix well.

 

3) Fold the grated pear into the mixture.

 

4) Follow the instructions for your waffle press. You could also turn this batter into pancakes by adding an extra 1/4 cup of milk to the batter.

 

5) Garnish with sliced pears and whipped vanilla coconut. Drizzle a bit of maple syrup or honey on top if desired.

 



 

 

Can you tell my 4 year old loved this?

 

 

Have a great weekend everyone!

- Lisa :)

 

** This post is part of a natural livng link party over at Frugal by Choice **

DIY Lotion Disc's - The Best Dry Skin Solution

 

It seems like every year, my skin gets angrier and angrier during the dry winter months. This year is no exception. I do however, have a solution this time around.

 

Lotion Disc's!

 

My goodness, where do I even begin! They are really THAT great.

 

I have tried just about everything to keep my skin moisturized during the winter, and nothing ever works very well. As I get older, and I'm not that old - really, it's getting worse. Not to mention I've been running regularly for over 10 years now and that seems to compound the dryness on my feet. I've gone as far as slathering thick expensive face cream on my feet at night, and covering them with socks so I don't ruin the sheets. That works for about half a day.

 

These little disc's however, took care of all my dry skin issues in less than a few days!

 

I came across this solution to dry skin completely on accident. As a lot of you know, I'm on a Spending Fast for the entire year. Of course when I went on my little frantic spending spree to pick up "important" stuff, I didn't grab lotion. I just assumed I would make my own since I had everything I needed to make it already in my cabinets.

 

I did make my own lotion, but I'm just not thrilled with it. It hardens up and is kind of messy.

 

The lotion disc's are the perfect answer to that problem too. They don't make a mess, they are a lot easier to make than actual lotion, and they keep my skin softer than any water based lotion ever has.

 

There are a ton of recipes for these online, but I'm really happy with mine so I want to share. So far I have made two different kinds - one for me and one for little Stella's eczema.

 

***

 

The directions below will make one of Stella's lotion disc's. The recipe for the one I use will be at the bottom of this post.

 

 

What you need:

 

Stella's Lotion Disc - yields 1 disc

 

1 Tbsp Organic Beeswax

1 Tbsp Organic Shea Butter

1 Tbsp Organic Olive Oil

3 Vitamin E soft gels

Toothpick

Muffin Tin

Cupcake liner

 



 

 

 

1). Put all of the ingredients except the vitamin e into a double boiler or a glass Pyrex measuring cup. I don't own a double boiler, so I melt mine in a glass cup in the microwave. Yes, I know, microwaves are baaaaad - I think we will be ok ;)

 

 

 

 

2) Melt the beeswax, shea butter and olive oil in your double boiler. If you plan on using your microwave, heat it slowly. The idea is to warm it up just enough to melt, you don't want it getting too hot. I warm mine in 35 second increments 3 times and in between each increment, I give it a quick stir with a toothpick. Your times may be a little different though, so play with it if you have to.

 

 

 

 

3) Once everything is melted, take a toothpick and puncture each soft gel and squeeze the vitamin e oil into your melted oils. Give it a few good stirs with a toothpick again.

 

 

 

4). Place your cupcake liner in the muffin tin and then pour your melted oil mixture into the liner. Allow it to cool until it's solid. Reomve the wrapper and it's ready to use.

 

 

 

 

Lisa's Lotion Disc - yields 1 disc

1 Tbsp Organic Beeswax

1 Tbsp Organic Coconut Oil

1 Tbsp Organic Sweet Almond Oil

3 Vitamin E soft gels

Toothpick

Muffin Tin

Cupcake liner

 

Follow the directions for Stella's lotion disc.

 

 

 

That's it! So easy and so effective. I absolutely love these! Try them and let me know what you think. The disc in the picture above has lasted about three weeks so far. Overall, I think this is not only more effective than water based lotion, but also a lot cheaper. To use them, just simply rub the bar along your skin, focusing on the dryer areas. The shea butter bar takes a few more minutes to absorb into your skin than the coconut oil bar does, but both work really well.

 

DIY Classroom Valentine's

 

 

I try to take care of classroom Valentine's before February even rolls around. It just makes my life easier. My oldest child's birthday happens to be the day before, and things can get really hectic, really fast. I seem to have a habit of forgetting some of the day to day stuff when we get to that week too. So, for everyone's sanity, we plan ahead.

 

Right now, my son's current obsession favorite toy are these tiny little guys called Crazy Cubes. Naturally, when I asked him what type of Valentine he would like to hand out this year, he told me "A Crazy Cube one! That would be so awesome!"

 

Of course it would, except they don't make them.

 

When I told him that, he looked at me and said "well, couldn't we just make them ourselves?"

 

Of course we can!

 

The Valentine's were actually really easy to do, and you don't need special software to do it. I just scanned a drawing on to my computer and did the rest of the editing and type layout in Picasa and then placed them in Word to fit 6 to an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper.

 

Yes, fellow designers and image folks, I know that's not the best way to do it - but this way works just fine and anyone can do it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

First things first, you will want to decide on your theme. My Valentine included hand drawings, but if that's not an option for you, no worries, use a photo of your child (check out Pinterest for some really great creative ideas). If you are drawing, scan your finished image on to your computer. I re-sized my scanned image to 5x7.

 

Bring your image into Picasa and start editing. I like to edit in their Creative Kit option, if gives you more freedom. That's where I found the hand drawn hearts, and placed the cool font. This is also where I touched up any stray pencil marks.

 

Once you have your image finished, save it. Open word, change the page layout to landscape and insert your finished image. Adjust the size to your liking, copy and then paste as many as you can fit on a page.

 

 

 

 

Print them out, cut them up and you're done!

 

Happy Monday!

-Lisa :)

 

 

** This post is linked to Homemade Monday's link party, hosted by "Frugal by Choice, Cheap by Necessity AND New Nostalgia Anti-Procrastination Tuesday**

Tuscan Orange Muffins - Whole grain

 

I love these muffins, but only make them when I have too many oranges. That doesn't happen a lot in this house. I try to savor these as much as I can because just like our oranges, they are usually gone in a day.

 

 

You can view the original recipe here. I have adapted it to meet our family's needs and feel it's different enough to share here. Our version is below.

 

 

 

1 1/4 C Unbleached Flour

1/2 C Whole wheat flour

1/2 C Organic Evaporated Cane Juice (or sugar)

2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

3/4 - 1 C ricotta (I try to use up what's left)

1/2 C water

1/4 C Coconut oil - melted

zest from one orange

juice from one orange

1 egg slightly beaten

sugar for sprinkling - optional

 

Pre-heat Oven to 350 - yields 12 muffins

 

1) Combine the first four ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk (all the dry)

 

2) Place the rest of the ingredients in a separate medium bowl minus the the sugar for sprinkling (all the wet) and mix well with a fork until it's a smooth consistency.

 

3) Add the wet to the dry ingredients and stir with a fork until just combined - a few spots of dry flour here or there is just fine, you don't want to over mix this or it will become very dense.

 

4) Grease muffin tin if not using liners, and then fill each until the batter is used up. Bake for 16-18 minutes. Check muffins by inserting a toothpick in the center of your largest muffin, if it comes out dry, they're done.

 

 

 



How to Make Your Own Ricotta Cheese and the Bad Side of Ultra-Pasteurized Milk

 

 

For a couple of years now, I have been passively searching for a way to get my hands on raw milk. You would think living minutes away from huge dairy farms, that this wouldn't be that difficult. It has been though. I'm not the type of person to go knocking on barn doors or cold calling farmers. I've made a few calls and emails to the contacts listed in online directories that are supposed to help connect farmers and customers, but nothing has amounted from that.

 

I always buy organic milk, but everything available in the stores has been ultra pasteurized. This is a shame because a good chunk of what's so beneficial in organic milk gets destroyed in that process, including the very enzymes needed to aid in digestion of it. Did you know, once milk has been ultra-pasteurized, it can sit on a shelf, unrefrigerated for days, even weeks and it won't go bad? It's not on a shelf though, because stores and their big-wigs know we wouldn't buy it if we knew how long it could sit. I won't go off on a rant, but this is part of my driving force to educate my children about whole, real food. It's one of the reasons teaching them to grow their own food and appreciate their local farmers is so important to me.

 

Anyway, back to the cheese. You can't make any sort of cheese with ultra-pasteurized milk for the reasons I listed above. It just won't curdle.

 

Can I tell you how excited I was when I found organic low-vat temperature pasteurized milk? People in the store probably thought I was crazy - seeing some weird lady squealing about milk. My reaction must have rubbed off on Stella too because she hugged that jug of milk all the way out the door. Thankfully I bought two half gallons so I didn't have to pry the jug out of her fingers. The lady checking us out got a good laugh from it too. This may just be the closest I will ever get to raw milk, and I'm good with that.

 

For local readers, I found the milk at Joesph's in Crystal Lake for $4.50 per half-gallon. Try it, it's sooo good!

 

 

 

On to the ricotta!

 

I had no idea how easy it is to make ricotta cheese. If you can pour milk and lemon juice in a pot, you can make it, seriously.

 

I followed the instructions listed in the book The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making and I let it hang a bit longer. 

 

 

 

 

It really was as easy as putting the milk and lemon juice in a pot and attaching a candy thermometer. I only stirred it twice the entire time.

 

 

 

 

It looks a little funky at the end of the cooking process, but this is normal. The curds are separating from the whey.

 

 

 

 

I draped a large cloth napkin over a colander that was nested in a pot and just poured everything in. The above picture is what was left.

 

 

 

 

I wanted a drier ricotta so I attached it to my faucet to drip dry for about an hour.

 

 

 

 

And this is what I got! So easy! You end up with A LOT of whey after making ricotta cheese. I couldn't just throw this away, or I would have felt like I was throwing money away. I had about three cups of it, so I used it instead of water to make two loafs of this Grandmother Bread. It was the first time making this bread, and I think I just might have a new favorite. My kids alone finished off almost an entire loaf in one day.